Hashtag TV – Do You Tweet?

It was going to be inevitable the effect huge mass adoption of social media was going to have on traditional media and the way communication with their audiences has changed forever. We now see the integration of hashtags on mainstream media channels such as BBC and Comady Central in an effort to convert viewers from DVDs to scheduled programs. We want to find out what programs you’re engaging with and why. We have some very interesting research from HubSpot below.

Social Media Explosion

Hashtag TV has only become possible due to infiltration of the major social networks into the general population; let me throw some number at you:

Facebook is heading for 1 billion users

The Wall has reported that Twitter could reach 500 million accounts in Feb 2012

You Tube is the 2nd biggest search engine with over 24 hours of video added every second

Linked In has over 100 million professionals signed up, with a 92% uptake among Business Journalists (Source: Arketi Web Watch)

Half of Twitter Users Discuss Shows

Social media networks, at the moment, still complement traditional TV viewing. A high percentage of Twitter users who tweet while watching a TV show discuss the show they’re watching, more often than Facebook users who log in during a TV show, according to TVGuide.com.

The “TVGuide.com User Research Study” indicates 50% of Twitter users discuss a show they are watching, one-third more than the 35% of Facebook users. (Research from HubSpot).

I think the reason for this massive the 35% difference between Twitter and Facebook will be due to the quick and easy nature of Twitter and hash tagging, and quite possibly the speed of their iPhone app!

Twitter Users Prefer to Tweet Before & After

TVGuide found that social media users are more likely to talk about their favorite shows on Twitter and Facebook before and after the show airs rather than during the show.

On Twitter, 62% said they engage before the show airs, 69% after, and 47% during. On Facebook, only 47% engage before the show airs (24% less than Twitter users), 68% after, and 24% during (almost 50% less).

Naturally viewers will be more inclined to tweet before and after, as they may not want to disrupt any of the programmes they are watching.

We will see more Hash Tag TV

Hashtag TV will become integrated in many other programmes, mainly live TV, including: sport, chat shows, charity shows and other live celebrity shows. The real-time conversation adds to the overall viewing experience and provides valuable online promotion for the show.

Hashtag placement is subtle enough to neither distract nor annoy viewers. So far, hashtags have only appeared as faint watermarks in the corner of the screen.

An official hashtag makes monitoring conversations easier.

Attaching all conversation to a dedicated hashtag increases its chance of trending (one hashtag vs. countless hashtags created by fans).

Seeing a TV show in the trending topics may compel others to tune in.

Curious fans who are not on Twitter are compelled to look up what the hashtag means and may then join the conversation.